MG ZT-T, any good?

[Jonboy_t]

Pretty much as advertised really, can't believe how much you can get for a relatively small amount of bunce - found a 2.5 V6, 190+ bhp with ~70k on the clock, for £1900!

Is there some kind of major issue with these that I haven't heard of? I know with Rover/MG's financial problems in the past, parts might be difficult, but other than that, are they a good idea?!!!

[Bluebarge]

I would ask in here
http://forums.mg-rover.org/forumdisplay.php?f=90
I don't think parts availability is a real issue - X-parts and suppliers such as Rimmer Bros can supply pretty much anything.

[Alex87]

hi, iv got a mg zs 180, as far as i know there i no major problem as long as the belts have been changed.

mechancal parts are easy to come by and well priced, body panels are difficult to find though

HTH

[williamp]

•ABS prpblems, meaning the car wont show the speed/wont change gear if auto. Could be sensors, could be the pump
•Auto gearbox can implode and write off the car. No agreement over whether its good to change the fluid or not
•The dashboard information display is made from pixles which fail, making it unreadble and, if the mileage cant be read an MOT failure
•Door seals can go, making the car noisy
•Strange electrical niggles, may or may not be sorted with a new ignition barrel or device called a “hedgehog”
•Airbag warning light can come on randomly
•Rear suspension bushes wear out, costly to fix
•Cooling is a big problem. As someone on another forum said:

So to be clear, change:
the radiator (plastic tank splits, fins balloon out)
water pump (bearings)
thermostat (electric item, doesn't open, causes overheating and ballooned radiator - not nice when you have already changed the rad previosly)
hoses (I never did mine)
viscous fan (siezes, breaks up - slices hoses and wiring loom - dents bonnet and wrecks the shroud)



Oh no, wait. Those are for the "perfect" BMW E39, not the MG.... Still, wait a minute and they'll all be along to saw how crap the MG will be, and how much better a German car is....

Edited by williamp on Thursday 14th October 16:53

[TriumphVitesse]

Alex87 said:

hi, iv got a mg zs 180, as far as i know there i no major problem as long as the belts have been changed.

mechancal parts are easy to come by and well priced, body panels are difficult to find though

HTH

Bit off topic here but I have been thinking of getting a ZS 180. What's you're overall opinion? Will they do 30+mpg if driven steady, ie 60-70mph motorway cruising as this is typical of 80% of my 25 mile commute to work.

[Bill]

williamp said:

Oh no, wait. Those are for the "perfect" BMW E39, not the MG.... Still, wait a minute and they'll all be along to saw how crap the MG will be, and how much better a German car is....

I was just wondering why I'd heard of none of those.

[Platinum]

TriumphVitesse said:

Alex87 said:

hi, iv got a mg zs 180, as far as i know there i no major problem as long as the belts have been changed.

mechancal parts are easy to come by and well priced, body panels are difficult to find though

HTH

Bit off topic here but I have been thinking of getting a ZS 180. What's you're overall opinion? Will they do 30+mpg if driven steady, ie 60-70mph motorway cruising as this is typical of 80% of my 25 mile commute to work.

If it's in good health, you should see 35mpg on the motorway; possibly nearer 40 if you go really steady in ideal conditions.

[SparkFox]

Platinum said:

TriumphVitesse said:

Alex87 said:

hi, iv got a mg zs 180, as far as i know there i no major problem as long as the belts have been changed.

mechancal parts are easy to come by and well priced, body panels are difficult to find though

HTH

Bit off topic here but I have been thinking of getting a ZS 180. What's you're overall opinion? Will they do 30+mpg if driven steady, ie 60-70mph motorway cruising as this is typical of 80% of my 25 mile commute to work.

If it's in good health, you should see 35mpg on the motorway; possibly nearer 40 if you go really steady in ideal conditions.

The best I ever managed was 24mpg over a full tank, about 270 miles from ~50 litres. The majority of my driving is in town/country lanes, if I sat in lane 2 at 45mph I reckon I could get 40mpg :-)

[broken biscuit]

My ZS 180 used to do 240-250 miles to a tank. About £45 a tank. Not good MPG. As said, as long as the belts are done in time, they are good engines. Only issue i had with my V6 was the rattly plenum and VIS problems - replacement plastic inlet manifold is £500 and there are no guarantees how long they last. Breather mods as in catch tank usually helps reduce the risks.

[Rob_F]

I've got a 190 - brilliant car to drive, really shrinks around you and handles very well with an adjustable chassis.

Main things to look for are:
- A few known leak issues which cause wet footwells and boots - easily sorted if you know where to look.
- ECU's can drown if the drainage holes get blocked up - just check it yourself after purchase.
- Clutch slave cylinders are fairly weak, which means a knew clutch + slave if the fluid leaks and stops it engaging. circa £450 to fix from Mr Clutch or similar.
- VIS valves can fail, causing a bit of power loss. Not that common, £600 to fix worst case if you need an entire manifold.
- Thermostats can leak, look for red staining from coolant in the 'V' of the engine. About £250 to fix because it's a bugger to get to.
- Lower engine mount can fail with age - just causes it to feel very rough and jerky, not that much to fix.

Apart from that they seem very strong - certainly no many more common faults than any other car. No head gasket issues from the V6 either.

Had many many favourable comments on my car which is great - especially since I thought i would be ripped for having an old mans car at 25!

Cheers,
Rob

[miniman]

Really happy with mine, only cost me a grand and nothing more than a few niggles in 10k miles - new ABS sensor and cleaning out the VIS valves. Fuel economy is dire, though, if you drive like a tt. Which I do.

[Phil Dicky]

I've a 160 ZT T with a blown head casket and possible warped head, so check all cooling,
If anyone wants mine its theirs for £600

ETA....I do like them though

Edited by Phil Dicky on Thursday 14th October 20:06

Edited by Phil Dicky on Thursday 14th October 20:36

[shaun442k]

TriumphVitesse said:

Bit off topic here but I have been thinking of getting a ZS 180. What's you're overall opinion? Will they do 30+mpg if driven steady, ie 60-70mph motorway cruising as this is typical of 80% of my 25 mile commute to work.

I've recently got one. The lowest mpg i've got over a tank is 30mpg and the highest is 35mpg on a 220 mile run. My commute is 23 miles so similar to yours. I usually fill up at 300 miles for around £50ish. I take it quite easy most of the time but always open the taps at least once per journey.... keeps me sane in the traffic. I doubt I could get 40mpg, the noise is just too good at 4.5k rpm+.

[Fire99]

Phil Dicky said:

I've a 160 ZT T with a blown head casket and possible warped head, so check all cooling,
If anyone wants mine its theirs for £600

Is that a later 1.8 Turbo version of the 160? rather than the earlier 'low tune' 2.5 v6